Rhaetian Railway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rhaetian Railway
Stadler Allegra approaching the Bernina Pass.
Overview
Native name	Rhätische Bahn, Ferrovia retica, Viafier retica
Status	operating
Owner	Rhätische Bahn AG
Locale	Canton of Grisons, Switzerland, Lombardy, Italy
Stations	102
Service
Type	Commuter and heavy rail
Services	10
Ridership	12 Million per year
History
Opened	1888
Technical
Line length	385 km (239 mi)
Character	Mountain railway
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)
Electrification	11 kV 16+2⁄3 Hz (322 km) 1000 V DC (62 km, Bernina line)
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Highest elevation	2,254 m (7,395 ft)

The Rhaetian Railway (often called RhB) is a special train company in Switzerland. It owns the biggest network of train lines among private companies in the country. Its main office is in Chur.

The RhB runs almost all the train lines in the canton of Grisons. This area is known for its beautiful mountains. The company started operating in 1888. Its network has grown a lot since then. One of its lines even crosses into Italy at a station called Tirano.

The Rhaetian Railway takes people to many popular places. These include famous tourist spots like St. Moritz and Davos. One of its lines, the Bernina Railway, goes over the Bernina Pass. This pass is very high, at 2,254 meters (7,395 feet) above sea level. From there, the train goes down to Tirano in Italy.

In 2008, a part of the RhB lines became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This included the Albula and Bernina lines. These lines are famous for their amazing engineering. The Albula-Bernina line was even the first train line in the world to be put on Google Street View. The RhB also runs some cool historic trains.

History of the Rhaetian Railway

The idea for the Rhaetian Railway came from Willem Jan Holsboer. He was a Dutchman who owned a hotel in Davos. In 1888, he suggested building a train line from Landquart to Davos.

Holsboer started a company to build the line. At first, they planned a standard-sized railway. But the mountains made it too difficult. So, on June 29, 1888, they started building a narrower train line instead. By 1890, trains were running to Davos.

In 1895, Holsboer changed his company's name to the Rhaetian Railway. This showed his plans to make the network much bigger. By 1896, lines connecting Chur to Landquart and Thusis were open. The Albula line opened in 1903, reaching St. Moritz in 1904. The network continued to grow until 1922.

All RhB lines are 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) wide. This is called "metre gauge." They are also all electric.

• The Bernina Railway (61 km or 38 mi) uses 1000 V DC electricity.
• The other 321 km (199 mi) of lines use 11 kV 16.7 Hz AC electricity.

The RhB network has 84 tunnels and 383 bridges. The longest tunnel is the Vereina Tunnel, which is 19.042 km (11.832 mi) long. It opened in 1999. The Albula Tunnel is 5.864 km (3.644 mi) long. The steepest part of the track is 7% on the Bernina railway. This means for every 100 meters forward, the track goes up 7 meters.

In 2022, the Rhaetian Railway made history. To celebrate 175 years of Swiss railways, they ran the world's longest passenger train. It had 100 cars and was almost two kilometers long!

The RhB Train Network

The Rhaetian Railway runs a 385-kilometer (239 mi) long train network. It has 10 different train lines and 102 stations.

In 2002, the RhB carried 300 million passenger-kilometers. This means if you added up all the distances everyone traveled, it would be 300 million kilometers. About 80% of the money from passengers comes from tourists. But 40% of the people who ride the trains are local commuters. These are people who use the train for daily travel, like going to work or school.

Main Train Lines

Landquart to Davos Line

A Rhaetian Railway train near Saas.

The Landquart railway station is where the Rhaetian Railway began. It's also where the company's main workshop is. The Landquart-Davos line is the oldest part of the RhB network.

After leaving Landquart, the line follows the Landquart river. It crosses the river three times. It also passes the amazing Sunniberg Bridge. This bridge is a key part of the road around Klosters.

Near Klosters Platz, the tracks cross the river one last time. Then they go into two tunnels. One tunnel is for the Vereina line. The other is the Klosters loop tunnel. This tunnel takes the Davos line through a big 90-degree curve. The line then climbs steeply. It goes through another 180-degree loop inside the Cavadürli loop tunnel. The train continues to climb through thick forests to Davos Laret.

The highest point on this line is Davos Wolfgang, at 1,625 meters (5,331 ft). After that, the line goes down. It runs along Lake Davos to Davos Dorf. The line ends at Davos Platz.

Davos to Filisur Line

This line connects Davos Platz to the Albula Railway at Filisur. It goes through wild gorges. It's known for its impressive engineering, especially the famous Wiesen Viaduct.

The Davos–Filisur line is 19 km (12 mi) long. It goes through 14 tunnels, which are 4,200 meters (13,780 ft) long in total. It also crosses 28 bridges. This line became electric in 1919.

Landquart to Thusis Line

The Glacier Express train.

This line starts in the Rhine valley. It runs next to the Swiss Federal Railways' line to Chur. The line to Thusis then follows the Rhine river to Bonaduz. From there, it enters the Domleschg Valley. It follows the Posterior Rhine river to Thusis.

Albula Line (Thusis to St. Moritz)

This line starts in Thusis (697 m or 2,287 ft). It follows the Albula river towards Tiefencastel (851 m or 2,792 ft). Then it crosses the Landwasser Viaduct before reaching Filisur (1,032 m or 3,386 ft). Soon after Filisur, the line goes through its first spiral tunnel. It continues to Bergün/Bravuogn (1,373 m or 4,505 ft).

Between Bergün/Bravuogn and Preda (1,789 m or 5,869 ft), the line has to climb about 400 meters (1,300 ft) in just 5 km (3.1 mi). It does this using many spirals and loops, without needing a special rack system. Then the line enters the Albula Tunnel at 1,815 meters (5,955 ft) under the Albula Pass. It comes out in the Val Bever, reaching Bever (1,708 m or 5,604 ft). The line continues to Samedan (1,721 m or 5,646 ft) and ends at St. Moritz (1,775 m or 5,823 ft).

In 2009, engineers found that the old Albula Tunnel needed major repairs. It was decided to build a new tunnel next to the old one. Construction started in 2015. The new tunnel opened in 2022, and the whole project, including fixing up the old tunnel, was finished in 2023.

Samedan to Pontresina Line

This is a shorter connecting line.

Reichenau to Disentis/Mustér Line

Two Glacier Express trains in the Rhine gorge.

The line from Reichenau to Disentis/Mustér connects the Rhaetian Railway network with the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn. It branches off from the line to Thusis after a shared bridge over the Rhine river.

This line opened in stages between 1903 and 1912. It became electric in 1922.

Unlike the road, which climbs steeply, the train line to Disentis/Mustér slowly goes up the narrow "Ruinaulta gorge". The bridges and tunnels on this part of the line are very impressive.

At Ilanz, the train line and road meet again. They then slowly and steadily climb to Disentis/Mustér.

Many trains use this line. These include hourly passenger trains and the famous Glacier Express trains. Freight trains also use the line to deliver goods to businesses in the area.

Engadin Line (Pontresina to Scuol-Tarasp)

A train on the Engadin line.

This line runs through the beautiful Engadin valley. It was built in two parts. The section from Samedan to Pontresina opened in 1908. The main Engadin line, between Bever and Scuol-Tarasp, opened in 1913. It was the first RhB line to be electric from the very start.

Since the Engadin line opened, Pontresina has been a special station. It can handle two different types of electricity. This is because the Bernina Railway uses a different electric system. Track 3 at Pontresina station can switch between the two systems. This allows trains like the Heidi Express to pass through.

The Engadin line shares its track with the Albula Railway between Samedan and Bever. When the Vereina Tunnel opened in 1999, the Engadin line got a direct connection to Klosters. This is on the Landquart–Davos line.

Bernina Line (St. Moritz to Tirano)

Historic train on the Bernina line.

This line starts at St. Moritz and goes towards Pontresina (1,774 m or 5,820 ft). It climbs steadily through the Val Bernina to the Bernina Pass. Along the way, you can see the Morteratsch Glacier and Piz Bernina, the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps.

After Morteratsch (1,896 m or 6,220 ft), the line goes to Bernina Diavolezza (2,093 m or 6,867 ft). Here, a cable car goes up to Diavolezza. The train then reaches Ospizio Bernina station. This station is next to Lago Bianco. It is the highest point on the entire Rhaetian Railway network at 2,253 meters (7,392 ft). It's also the highest point for any adhesion railway in Europe (meaning it doesn't use a special rack system to climb).

Alp Grüm (2,091 m or 6,860 ft) is the first station south of the summit. It sits above Lago Palü and below Piz Palü and the Palü Glacier. After many sharp turns, the line reaches Cavaglia (1,693 m or 5,554 ft). Then the line goes down across the valley to the Swiss town of Poschiavo (1,014 m or 3,327 ft).

After Poschiavo, the line runs next to Lago Poschiavo. It stops at Le Prese (964 m or 3,163 ft) and Miralago (965 m or 3,166 ft). The train continues its descent to Brusio (780 m or 2,560 ft). After Brusio, the line crosses the famous spiral bridge, the Brusio Viaduct. Finally, the line passes through the Swiss border town of Campocologno (553 m or 1,814 ft) before entering Italy at Tirano RhB station (430 m or 1,410 ft).

Arosa Line (Chur to Arosa)

An Arosa line train in Chur.

This 25.68 km (15.96 mi) long train line goes from Chur to Arosa. It's often called the "Arosabahn." Building started in 1912, and the line opened on December 12, 1914. The railway climbs 1,155 meters (3,789 ft) from Chur to Arosa. It uses many tunnels, bridges, and other structures. This includes the Langwieser Viaduct, which is a very important bridge.

In 1942, the line became part of the RhB company. For many years, it used a different electric system than the rest of the RhB network. But since 1997, it uses the same 11 kV 16.7 Hz AC electricity. The track width has always been 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in), like other RhB lines.

It is mostly a single-track railway. But there's a short double-track part in Chur. There are also places along the route where trains can pass each other. The steepest climb is 6%, but it doesn't use a special rack system.

A short part of the line runs along the streets of Chur. This is known as the Chur stadtbahn (town railway). In Chur, the line starts in front of the main train station. There's also a second stop in Chur, not far from the main station.

There were plans for a 5 km (3.1 mi) tunnel to avoid running through the center of Chur. But this plan was dropped in 1996 because it was too expensive.

Many tourists use this line to go to and from the Arosa resort. The line also carries a lot of freight.

Vereina Line (Klosters to Sagliains/Susch)

This line is important for connecting the Prättigau region with the Engadin valley, especially through the long Vereina Tunnel.

Past Train Lines

Bellinzona to Mesocco Line

This line was not connected to the other RhB lines. It opened in 1907. The Rhaetian Railway owned it from 1942 to 2003. Regular passenger trains stopped running in 1972. But some freight trains continued until 2003. A private group ran it as a special heritage railway for tourists. They used 13 km (8.1 mi) of the original 31 km (19 mi) line. But part of the line was closed in 2013 for road construction. This road construction started in July 2014.

• 

  Moesa III bridge

• 

  Cama station

• 

  Soazza station

• 

  Mesocco station

Passenger Train Services

The RhB runs different types of passenger trains. These include InterRegio (IR), RegioExpress (RE), and Regio (R) services. They also operate the Chur S-Bahn, which is like a local city train system.

Two famous tourist trains also run on the Rhaetian Railway network:

• The Bernina Express: This train goes from Chur or St. Moritz to Tirano. The RhB operates it.
• The Glacier Express: This train goes from Zermatt to Andermatt, Chur, and St. Moritz. The RhB and the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn work together to run this train.

Here are some of the regular train services you can find (as of December 2024):

Train Cars and Engines

Open coaches at Alp Grüm

For regular passenger services, the RhB uses modern electric trains called Rhaetian Railway ABe 4/16 electric multiple units.

Besides the normal passenger cars and the special panoramic cars for the Bernina Express tourists, the railway sometimes adds other cool cars to the back of trains:

• Yellow open cars with wooden benches, called vaguns panoramics. These are great for seeing the views!
• A fancy art deco Pullman coach (AS 1143). Groups can rent this for special trips.

About the Company

The RhB's main office building.

The Rhaetian Railway is owned by different groups. The government of the Canton of Graubünden owns 51.3% of the company. The Swiss government owns 43.1%. Private shareholders own 4.6%, and local communities own 1%.

The main office of the RhB is in Chur, at Bahnhofstrasse 25.

Train Incidents

Main article: Tiefencastel derailment

• On August 13, 2014, a passenger train was hit by a landslide. It went off the tracks near Tiefencastel, on the Albula Railway. Eleven people were hurt in this accident.

More to Explore

• Bernina Express
• Hakone Tozan Line: This is a private mountain railway in Japan. It is a "twinning railway" with the RhB, meaning they are partner railways.
• List of mountain railways in Switzerland
• List of heritage railways and funiculars in Switzerland
• List of narrow-gauge railways in Switzerland
• List of railway companies in Switzerland
• Rail transport in Switzerland

See also

In Spanish: Ferrocarril Rético para niños